Active Multi-Sport Adventures, New and Favorite Family Tours and Year of the Tiger India Tour Top This Year’s List

WASHINGTON DC, October 1, 2009 – World Wildlife Fund’s Travel Program is announcing its 2010 tour schedule, adding new multi-sports trips and family tours designed to get travelers up close and personal with wildlife. Since 1983, World Wildlife Fund has taken curious travelers on wildlife-viewing expeditions throughout the world. The new 2010 offerings reflect ever–increasing interest by travelers in unique destinations in which to enjoy their favorite outdoor sports and activities, as well as trips which offer families – often three generational – opportunities to make lasting memories.

Among the highlights of the 2010 World Wildlife Fund (WWF) travel schedule:

More Active Adventures – These multi-sport itineraries provide travelers with the opportunity to snorkel, kayak, trek, hike and camp in wildlife rich landscapes. New this year is a beach-based trip to Mexico’s Baja peninsula – a camping/kayaking/snorkeling adventure in Espiritu Santo. This trip joins WWF’s existing lineup of trips which include climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, trekking in Nepal, hiking through Patagonia and snorkeling throughout Indonesia’s Raja Ampat Archipelago.

More Family Tours – A new family tour to China highlights both culture and nature – including giant pandas at two wildlife centers, and provides lots of opportunities for young travelers to meet Chinese children. The popular Tanzania Safari for Families is back this year. Both China and Tanzania family tours - perfect for grandparents, parents and children - are timed for summer–break. Another tour, Costa Rico for Families, allows families to spend the winter break in one of the world’s most family friendly eco-destinations and includes zip ride lines through a cloud forest and a visit to a volcano.

Wildlife of India Tour– 2010 is the official Year of the Tiger, and WWF will once again offer its extraordinary journey to India, which includes explorations of three national parks that are havens for the magnificent Bengal tiger.

In addition to these trips, WWF offers dozens of other destinations through its partnership with the tour operator Natural Habitat Adventures. Since 2003, WWF has partnered with NHA because of its commitment to environmentally friendly travel. NHA was the world’s first tour operator to go completely carbon neutral by offsetting emissions through investments in alternative energy projects in the developing world. Among Natural Habitat Adventures’ many departures in 2010 are trips to the Galapagos Islands, one of the world’s foremost wildlife destinations; Arctic Canada, where the majestic polar bear wanders across the tundra near Churchill; and the pine forests of central Mexico, where the Monarch butterflies spend the winter.

Integral to WWF’s tours is the understanding that a complete travel experience includes protecting and preserving the world’s natural assets. WWF itineraries reflect the world’s places that need protection. A portion of all proceeds from WWF trips (between 5% and 10%) is directly contributed to WWF’s general conservation fund, to support WWF’s work around the world. WWF trips also boost the economies of communities that rely on sustainably managed tourism for their livelihoods.

WWF offers travelers the opportunity to fight global climate change by offsetting the carbon emissions from their air travel on all trips. Carbon offsetting through WWF’s travel partner Sustainable Travel International allows travelers to compensate for their trip by investing in renewable energy and energy efficient projects throughout the world. For more details, visit www.worldwildlife.org/travel.